The evil with which man comes into the closest contact lives in man himself: from one side, the desire to be master, the penchant for coercion and violence; from the other side, a blind rebelliousness which seeks self-affirmation and limitless range for instinct. These demons lie at the bottom of our souls, ready at any moment to break through to the surface.
They are fed by the sense of one's own "I" as the only center which has value. The dilution of "I" in the elements of society, it would seem, places limits on the rebellion of the individual, but in doing so it levels and erases the personality. The exit from this dead end was given in the Biblical commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." It calls us to struggle against our bestially egocentric origins, the struggle for the recognition of the value of another "I," the struggle which should create a higher man, a "new creation."
Only Love is capable of defeating Satan.
Let much which is in the world surrounding man, and even in man himself, fight against the commandment of love, people will find the power for its fulfillment with Him Who Himself is Love, with Him Who was revealed in the Gospel of Christ as the merciful Father.
Genuine faith is inseparable from humaneness. People who forget about this are similar to the builders who built the house without a foundation, directly on the sand. Such a building is fated to fall at the first storm.
Christ retained the Decalogue as the foundation of morality. "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments," He said to the rich young man. In addition, He approved of Hillel's principle, "Do not do to another what is not pleasant to you," although He attached to this utterance a sense of greater activity and efficacy. "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."
The Gospel is far from a negative moralism with a formal schema of a "charity" which leads only to prohibitions. Saint Augustine wrote, "Love God and then do what you will," i.e., our relations with people flow organically from our faith. He who has known the Father cannot help but love His creation as well. In addition, Christ said directly, "As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." He will judge not by people's "convictions," but by their works. He who serves his neighbor serves God, even if he does not realize it.
So how should disciples of Christ act when they encounter the misdeeds of others?
Many Jewish teachers spoke out against the sin of judging. Christ approved of this teaching completely.
If we are to expect forgiveness from the Lord, we ourselves must learn to forgive. Does the man act well who, having received forgiveness of a large debt from the king, himself turns out to be a merciless creditor and throws his fellow man in debtors' prison?
At the appearance of weakness on the part of our neighbor we ought not to pass sentence, but rather sympathize, remembering our own sinfulness. "Judge not," warns Jesus, "that you be not judged, for with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"
The Pharisees had become accustomed to looking down from on high on "those ignorant of the law." The word, Am-Khaarets —"bumpkin" —was for them synonymous with "sinner." They wanted to have nothing in common with such a man. They were not allowed to pray with him, to sit at the table together, even to feed him in case of need. "The ignorant do not fear sin; am-khaarets cannot be righteous," said the learned men.
Jesus was their complete opposite in this respect. He more often preferred to deal with simple people. In addition, all those who were cast out, all the pariahs of society, found in Him a friend and protector. Publicans, who were not recognized as people, and women of the street were not infrequently among those who surrounded Him. This shocked the respectable scribes who were parading their righteousness. Hearing their reprimands, Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
Christ placed sincere repentance above the serenity of those who considered themselves pleasing to God. Once He told the story of two people, praying in the temple. One, an honorable Pharisee, thanked God that he "was not like other people," fasted frequently, made sacrifice in the temple, and "was not like this publican." But the publican stood far away, not daring to raise his eyes, beat his chest and repeated, grief-stricken, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." "I tell you," Christ concluded the parable, "this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
However, repentance must not be limited to words.
John the Baptist did not speak in vain when he spoke of the "fruits of repentance." And once again Christ introduced an example from dailylife. "A man had two children, and he went to the first one and said, 'My child, go today and work in the vineyard.' He answered,'l will go, sir,'and did not go. He went to the second and said the same thing. And this one answered, 'I do not want to go,' and afterwards repented and went. Which of these fulfilled the will of the father?"
When Jesus visited Matthew's house, where his publican friends gathered, this provoked an explosion of indignation. Reproaches poured down on the Teacher's head. How could He sit at the table with such personages? However, Jesus once again reminded them that every soul deserves concern and sympathy. Those who forget this are like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son, who did not rejoice in the return of the wanderer.
Gathering to Himself sinners, Christ wanted to stir up in them repentance and thirst for a new life. Not infrequently His goodness and trust did genuine miracles.
Once the Teacher was going through Jericho. A multitude of people met Him at the gates of the city. All wanted Jesus to stop in their home. One of the Jerichites, by the name of Zacchaeus, "chief publican," struggled to push his way through the crowd, hoping to look upon the Teacher, if only with one eye, but his small height hindered him. Then, forgetting etiquette, he ran forward and clambered up a tree which the Lord was to walk past.
Jesus did in fact approach this spot and, lifting his eyes, noticed the little man sitting in the fig tree. "Zacchaeus," Jesus said unexpectedly, "come down quickly! I must be with you today"
Forgetting himself for joy, the publican ran home to meet the Lord, and those who were around began to murmur, "He stopped at the home of such a sinful man!" But the Teacher's step had its effect.
"Lord," said Zacchaeus as he met Him, "Half of what I have I give to the needy, and if I have required something of someone unrighteously, I will provide quadruple compensation."
"Now salvation has come to this house," answered Christ, "because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to find and save those who had perished."